Radio receiver indicator dial



March 15, 1949. J. P. BARNES 2,464,36

RADIO RECEIVER INDICATOR DI AL Filed Feb. 14, 1946 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Louis ,Quatorze.

Patented Mar. 15, 1949 RADRO RECEIVER KNDKGATOR DIAL .lohn ll. Barnes. Springicid. Pm, assignor to Radio Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application February 14. 1946, Serial No. 647,600

This invention relates to radio receivers and particularly to improvements in concealed tuning dials for cabinet type receivers.

Artistically considered, radio cab nets of conventional design are frequently out of harmony with the decorative environment in which they are placed. By way of example, a radio cabinet,

1 Claim. (Cl. l16124.1)

as such, would be an anachronism in a colonial room or in a room furnished in the style of, say, Accordingly, it has previously been pro posed to mount a broadcast receiverin some suitable article of furniture, such as a bookcase, desk or table and to conceal the tuning dial and control knobs of the set behind a sliding panel, hinged lid, or other movable mask. The trouble with this mode of concealment resides not only in the added cost of the movable panel and its knobs, hinges and latches, but in the fact that the paneling which is necessary to effect the concealment may, by its very presence, detract from the appearance of the unit.

Accordingly, the principal object of the present invention is to obviate the foregoing and other disadvantages of present day concealed radio receivers and to provide an improved receiver, including an illuminable dial which, when unilluminated, shall be concealed from the eyes of even the closest observer, and this too without resort to the use of a lid, cover or other auxiliary masking mechanism.

Stated generally, the foregoing and other objects are achieved in accordance with the present invention by the provision of an illuminable tuning dial covered by an immovable translucent veneer (c. g. a decalcomania) having a decorative pattern which blends perfectly with the pattern of the grain of the wood or other material (e. g. marble) of the cabinet, or vase or other article of furniture within which the set is housed. When it is desired to conceal not only the dial but also the control knobs of the set, the design or pattern of the veneer may comprise a photographic or other accurate reproduction of a drawer panel, in which case, the control knobs are preferably mounted in the same relative position on the panel as the drawer knobs so that the functions of the knobs, if not the knobs themselves, are concealed from the casual or uninitiated observer.

Certain preferred details of construction together with other objects and advantages will be apparent and the invention itself will be understood by reference to the following specification and to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of a radio cabinet built in the form of a table made of polished wood and includinr a concealed illuminabie dial, the dial being unilluminated;

Fig. 2 is front eevation of a part of the front or drawer panel of the cabinet of Fig. 1, with the dial illuminated;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line IIIIII of Fig. 2 showing the dial plate and control shafts of the unit; and

Fig. 4 is a view in perspective of radio cabinet in the form of a marble or stone vase, and including an illuminated dial which is concealed when the receiver is idle.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, l designates generally an article of furniture, in this case a table, having a smooth flat top 2 fixed horizontally on supporting legs 3, and provided on its sides with panels including a relatively narrow front panel 4 having a central drawer section 4a to which a. pair of knobs 5 and 6 are afiixed. It will be observed upon inspection of Fig. 1 that the top and sides of the table I appear to be made of the same material, 1. e. they have the appearance of polished wood.

As will hereinafter more fully appeanthe top and sides of the table I conceal a radio receiver whose tuning and volume controls comprise the drawer knobs 5 and 6. The table top 2 has the appearance of polished or lacquered wood and may in fact be made of wood. The front panel 4, has a similar appearance but comprises a thin sheet or strip of glass, Lucite (methyl methacrylate resin) or other transparent material which is provided either on its inner or its outer surface with a translucent decorative veneer 1 (see Fig. 3) such as a decalcomania or a lithofilm transfer. The pattern of the paper or other translucent decorative veneer 1 in this case comprises a photographic replica of a drawer front having a lacquered surface which harmonizes with the appearance of the table top 2. One source of such lacquered film-like veneers is the Di-Noc Manufacturing Company of Cleveland, Ohio.

.As indicated in Fig. 2 and as shown more clearly in Figure 3 all but a part, 4b, of the drawer section 4a of the front panel 4 is rendered opaque, as by the use of paintB, or the like, applied to the rear or inner surface of the said panel. This unmasked or transparent section 4b comprises a window for a dial plate Ill which may be supported as on a bracket ll behind the opaque portion of the front panel. The indicia or scale markings l2, in this case are engraved or otherwise impressed in the rear surface of the plate l0 and effectively hidden, when the dial is dark, by the translucent veneer I which covers the entire rear surface of the panel 4. When the veneer is applied to the front surface of the panel the plate I0 may be omitted and the scale markings l2 impressed or cut in the rear surface of the veneer covered window 4b.

Thedial here shown is edge-lighted by one or more lamps l3 arranged along the top of the plate l0, though it may be projection lighted by mounting the lamps at the rear of the saidscale-bearing surface. The lamps l3 in either case are connected to a switch M which is actuated by the same knob 5 that turns the set on and off. The cursor or pointer I5 for the scale is mounted behind thedial plate l0 and will be understood to operate under the control of the tuning knob 6. If desired, the pointer may be illuminated, for example, in the manner shown in U. S. Patent 2,122,998 to Brodton.

The particular pattern of the dial-concealing veneer 1 should, of course, be chosen with a careful regard to the finish of the particular article of furniture within which the receiver is housed. Thus, referring now to Fig. 4, when the cabinet in which the radio receiver is housed comprises the vase-like bo'dy 2| of a table lamp 22, or the like, the veneer 23 may have the appearance of marble or other decorative stoneware. Alternatively, the veneer may be given the appearance of metal, or it may be any other desired pattern in harmony with the general design of the cabinet.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 1, the chassis including the loudspeaker of the radio receiver may simply me affixed to the underside of the table top. In this case the tubes and other heat radiating elements of the set are exposed to the air and are cooled thereby. In the lamp embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 4 cooling is taken care of by making the base 24,

; luminated, and means including an illumination and the loudspeaker grill 25 at the top'ot the '08- lindrical "cabinet 2| 01 open-work construction so that it in fact comprises a chimney or flue.

It will now be apparent that the present invention dispenses with the use of the maskin mechanisms heretofore employed in concealed" radio receivers and provides an illuminable dial which, when unilluminated, is concealed from the eyes of even the closest observer.

What is claimed is:

A radio cabinet constructed to simulate a wooden article of furniture of the type having a drawer and a knob for said drawer, said radio cabinet comprising a body portion in the form of said article and including a panel having an opaque portion and a translucent dial portion having illuminable indlcia, a translucent veneer comprising a replica of said drawer permanently affixed to and covering said panel and adapted to conceal said dial when said indicia are unilcontrol knob for said indicia mounted on said opaque portion of said panel inthe same relative position as said drawer knob.

JOHN P. BARNES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Grote July 25, 1939 

